Passing Points Prove Pivotal After Just One Race

When the first green flag of the 2017 waved almost a month ago at Franklin County Speedway no one knew how pivotal of a role the new Passing Points would play. After just one race the points standings show that passing points will be one of the keys to winning the championship.

In the Late Model Stock Car division where even through one event there’s already been two races contested the passing points helped race one winner Kelly Kingery leap frog the two most consistent racers of the first two events. Dennis Holdren and Ross “BooBoo” Dalton grabbed second and third place finishes respectively in the two events which ordinarily would have them locked atop the points but with Kingery garnering passing points in both races he was able to take a one point advantage.

Kingery sits atop the points but knows he’ll have to keep gaining those passing points to stay there.

“It’s going to be a challenge to keep in mind you’re racing for wins but you’re also trying to get the most points,” said Kingery. “When you win the first race of a night of twins you’re in a good place to gain points because you’re going to be starting further back for the second race with the invert. Someone could really gain some points with this system. It’s definitely fun to see how it works out.”

Despite winning one of the twin races defending champion Kyle Dudley finds himself fourth in points four points behind Holdren and Dalton for second position. Bobby Gillespie finds himself in sixth position in the points despite a 12th place finish in the first race after he rallied from 12th to finish fifth in the second race. Those seven points could prove critical for the veteran drivers quest for a championship.

The Mini Stock division saw the biggest shake up in points as Drew Holdren picked up eight positions en route to a second place finish behind his brother Dennis Holdren. Those eight points catapulted him to the points lead by five over his brother who only gained two positions before winning the event. David Helm and Brian Turner each gained four positions in the race and thus gained two positions each. Jessie Yopp who qualified on the pole, was inverted to fourth for the start and finished third was the biggest loser in the points shuffle as he fell from third to fifth in the standings.

Steve Worthington wasn’t able to beat V8 Street division dominator Jason Warsing on the track but the four positions he gained netted him a two point lead in the points standings after the first race of the season. Warsing picked up the win and one passing point but that wasn’t enough to keep Worthington from garnering the points lead. No one else in the V8 Street division was able to gain any passing points.

In the U-Car division the guy who dominated the later portion of the 2017 season took home the win again but he did so after passing three cars from his fourth starting position. That was the most cars passed in the division and gave him a three point advantage over second place finisher and defending track champion Larry Isley, Jr. WJ Altizer took advantage of the passing points after a track mandated invert and tied Isley for second in the points. Doug Brown who finished sixth gained three points as well to leap frog into the top five in points in fourth.

Passing points will once again be on the line this Sunday afternoon as Franklin County Speedway swings back into action with the Moonshine Classic event. The event will feature twin 50-lap Late Model Stock Car races plus racing in Mini Stocks, V8 Street, U-Cars and Blue Ridge Mini Cups Future Stars division.

Kids of all ages will be eligible to run in the Bicycle races during pre-race festivities and there will be free Train rides for the kids all evening long. Adult tickets are just $10 with Youths (5-12) just $5 and children four and under getting in free. Practice starts at 1pm with racing starting promptly at 3pm.

More information check out www.FCSpeedway.com or find us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/MoonshineCapitalPromotions/ or contact Langley Austin at 276.613.4208.